When did Ann Lee start the American religious community known as the Shakers?

May 5, 2014 by Karen Hill | Filed Under: History

The American religious community known as the Shakers was started by Ann Lee in 1776 near Albany, New York.

As a young woman in England, Lee had joined the “shaking Quakers,” known for their lively worship, with dancing, shouting, and shaking.

Lee developed her own teachings, emphasizing a close-knit community, simplicity, charity, and equality of the sexes and races. A committed pacifist, she was jailed for her opposition to the Revolutionary War.

After she died in 1783, Mother Lee, as she was called, was succeeded by Lucy Wright, who helped spread the Shaker teachings.